Burn After Reading , the latest film by the Coen brothers, is exactly what one would think a Coen brothers movie to be, dramatic and funny with a hint of darkness. With that in mind, this movie fits perfectly with their previous films. In order to really appreciate this film, I had to be in the mindset of the aforementioned brothers, but I know that if i never had the opportunity to experience their wackiness, this movie would be total nonsense and I would not have enjoyed it at all.

The story starts off with Osbourne Cox (Malkovich) leaving his job as an analyst at the CIA, after getting furious for being demoted due to a drinking problem. In order to occupy his time, he begins working on his memoirs about his work experience at the CIA. Along the way he manages to lose a CD copy of his memoirs at the gym, which Chad Feldheimer (Pitt) and Linda Litzke (McDormand) find. After seeing what's on the disc, they come to the false, but hilarious conclusion that it contains top secret information about the CIA, and are willing to return it to Cox in exchange for a reward. At the same time, the wake of Cox’s firing has pushed his wife Katie (Swinton), who has been having an affair with Harry Pfarrer (Clooney), to the point where she wants a divorce. Pfarrer, as well as being involved with Katie, is fooling around with other women, one of which being Litzke. It's amazing how these stories, started by one man's small drinking problem, manage to find their way to become intertwined. Finally, a story where alcohol addiction brings people together.

Malkovich looking pretty threatening.

The actors, for the most part, did an excellent job at accentuating the weirdness of this movie. First, we have John Malkovich playing an angry, former analyst for the CIA who would blow up at the slightest mishap – very energetic and eccentric with his furious attitude. On the other hand, you have Brad Pitt, an extremely lively and playful employee of a gym, who would randomly dance and jump around, especially around Frances McDormand, a co-worker to Pitt, who could also be bouncy at times, but was more reserved. Then we have George Clooney, a treasury agent who is constantly going back and forth between joyful and paranoid, giving him this wacky, almost dark, quality. The most normal one, to say, was Tilda Swinton, who played a controlling no nonsense doctor.

The problem, for me, was when I just had enough of the over the top acting. Not to say that the acting was bad, but it just came to a point where I just wanted the movie to calm down, but then again, this is a Coen brother’s movie, so I guess it should be expected.

A tad too overzealous?

In the end, it all comes down to where you find yourself on the Coen brother’s scale. For me, being a fan of their movies, I did find this quite enjoyable. On the other hand, I know that if I did not know them or enjoy their movies, I would not like this, which is a problem because this movie does not appeal to the masses, it appeals to the fans.